Gorakhpur tragedy continues: 42 children die in 48 hours at BRD medical college

New Delhi, Feb 24: India and the US are committed to defend their people from radical islamic terrorism, resolved to significantly expand defence ties and are working on a "fantastic" trade deal, said US President Donald Trump on Monday while asserting that his country "loves" and is "loyal" to India.

Addressing a huge crowd at 'Namaste Trump' event at the Motera stadium here, the US president, accompanied by his wife Melania and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, talked about India's great tradition of embracing individual freedom, rule of law, dignity of every human being and where people worship side-by-side in harmony.

On his maiden visit, Trump, who was welcomed by Modi on his arrival here, said his country will remain a "loyal" friend of India and called the Prime Minister an "exceptional leader" who works day and night for the country.

"India and the US are committed to fight terrorists and their ideology; that is why my government is working with Pakistan to crack down on terror groups," Trump said in the presence of his family -- daughter Ivanka, son-in-law Jared Kushner-- and top brass of his administration.

"The US will always be faithful and loyal friend of India. Thank you for the spectacular welcome," he added.

He also announced that the two countries will firm up defence deals worth USD 3 billion on Tuesday and that the US will become India's premier defence partner.

"India and US have natural and enduring friendship," Trump said to a cheering crowd.

"We are quickly revitalising our alliances all around world," he said.

Trump said both countries are working on a "fantastic trade" deal, and observed that Modi is a "tough negotiator".

The US president also heaped praises on Modi, saying the Prime Minister is a "living proof" of what an Indian can achieve with hard work as Trump referred to his humble background as a tea-seller, who had a landslide win in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

On his part, Modi welcomed Trump to "world's largest democracy" and said a "new history" was being created.

Modi also praised Trump's leadership in containing terrorism.

Trump said as the world's largest economy, India gives hope to all humanity and has become an economic giant.

"There is a difference between a nation that rises by coercion and one that rises by setting its people free -- that is India. India and the US have natural and enduring friendship," he said.

He also touched on India's cultural diversity and riches as he highlighted the success of its blockbuster movies like DDLJ (Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and Sholay, and its sporting icons like Sachin Tedulkar and Virat Kohli.

He highlighted the boom in the US economy under his presidency and added that India will soon be home to the biggest middle class as it will eliminate extreme poverty in in next 10 years.

On his part, Modi said ties between India and the US are no longer just another partnership but have touched far greater heights.

Welcoming Trump, he said a "new history" is being created.

Visit of President Trump to India with his family shows strong ties between India and the US, said Modi.

Bhopal, June 7: In a shocking incident of medical cruelty, an 80-year-old man was tied to a hospital bed in Madhya Pradesh after he allegedly failed to make payment of fees for his treatment. The incident took place at the City Hospital in Shajapur.  

The hospital, however, claimed that he was having convulsions and as a result had his hands and legs tied so that he could not hurt himself.

The man’s family members have accused the hospital authorities of resorting to the heinous act after they failed to pay a fee of Rs 11,000 for his treatment at the. 

“We had deposited a bill of Rs 5,000 at the time of admission but when the treatment took a few more days, we did not have the money to pay the bill,” his daughter told the channel.

The hospital, however, maintained that the man was shackled because he was suffering from an electrolyte imbalance. “He was having convulsions because of electrolyte imbalance,” an unidentified doctor said. “We tied him so that he could not hurt himself.” 
The doctor claimed the hospital had waived off the man’s bill on “humanitarian grounds”.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan took cognizance of the matter and promised strict action against the hospital authorities. 

The Shajapur administration has also ordered an inquiry and has sent a police team to the hospital for investigation, the district collector told media persons.

New Delhi, Jul 22: India is responding with utmost urgency to coronavirus from the very beginning and has been continuously strengthening preparedness and response measures, WHO Regional Director (South-East Asia) Poonam Khetrapal Singh said on Wednesday.

"India is responding with utmost urgency to COVID-19 from the start. It's been continuously strengthening preparedness and response measures, including ramping up testing capacities, readying more hospitals, arranging and stocking up medicines and essentials," Singh said at a virtual briefing.

"India took bold, decisive and early measures earlier in the outbreak. The country did not witness an exponential increase in cases like some other countries which reported their first few cases along with India. Like in any other country the transmission of COVID-19 is not homogenous in India. There are areas yet to see a confirmed case, some have sporadic cases, in some areas some small clusters while we are witnessing large clusters in some megacities from the densely populated areas," Singh said.
She said WHO was aware of varying capacities at sub-national levels.

"Not unusual in a country as big as India and its population size that measures taken may often not be uniformly sufficient across all areas. Scaling up capacities and response remains a constant need in India."

Replying on the question of what more needs to be done in controlling the spread of COVID-19, she said all countries including India must continue to implement core public health and social distancing measures.

"Local epidemiology to guide our response for finding hotspots and testing, detecting, isolating and providing care to the affected, promoting safe hygiene practices and respiratory etiquette, protecting health workers and increasing health system capacity is also key," she said.